Laurie Delk's Blog

Services have opened to help businesses customize yet automate their card-sending processes
By JAN NORMAN – The Orange County Register

When Cap Poore was a salesman, he started sending cards to prospects and clients.

“There were a hundred of us selling the same stuff. I had to figure out how to stand out in the crowd,” said Poore, who lives in Laguna Hills.

Poore found that customers needed continual reminders of his existence. Just as important, he discovered that sending cards for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas or even Columbus Day made the recipients feel special. And positive relationship building always benefited his business.

Former independent book publisher Diane Fallon of Irvine said, “I love sending cards. It’s fun. But I’m amazed how many businesses don’t stay in touch with their customers.”

A recent survey by Hallmark Business Expressions, the business-to-business subsidiary of the greeting card giant, found that 69 percent of respondents had received a birthday card from a company and of those people, 47 percent said the card made them more likely to do business with that company.

“Customers notice and appreciate when a company sends them good wishes around their birthday….Cards make a lasting impression and encourage repeat business,” said Hallmark spokesman Marc Wagenheim.

The impact isn’t limited to birthday cards, said Jane Saeman, owner of Aim High Tutors in Dana Point. “I periodically send out unexpected thank yous for their business,” she said. “I think receiving a card without reason is more heartfelt and better received than the expected birthday card from a business.”

While birthday cards are big sellers, many companies buy cards to send employees on the anniversary of their hiring date, said Glenn Richards of Intergreet.com, an Anaheim Internet wholesale distributor for American Greeting cards.

The core of Intergreet’s business is gift shops and florists. It doesn’t sell to the public. However, it has a corporate division for companies that buy in quantity. “We don’t promote it, but people find us, and they buy cards for 50 percent off the retail price,” Richard said.

“They have various reasons to send cards.Macy’s just placed an order for sympathy cards,” he said. “Real estate companies buy ‘welcome to your new home’ cards. Not so much now; we’re affected by the housing downturn.”

Other types of businesses that buy large quantities of greeting cards for customers or employees include insurance agents and car dealers, he added.

“The majority want a card that looks like one that you’d find in a store rather than a bulk item printed with the company logo,” Richards said.

The hardest part about sending cards is, well, sending cards.

Poore, who sends out about 700 cards a month plus 4,000 Christmas cards in December, used a New Mexico service called CardSendersthat automated the process for him. When the owners wanted to retire in 2003, he bought the company and is changing the name to CardSenders/Client Touch.

One reason for the name change is to avoid confustion with a fast-growing direct marketing company is named Send Out Cards.Also, Poore emphasizes a client appreciation program that is broader than just sending greeting cards.

“Communicating with people is important in business,” Poore explained. “You should ‘touch’ your clients every month and you want to do that in different ways: newsletters and phone calls as well as cards.”

He still sends out large numbers of greeting cards to set a good example for his clients.

Send Out Cards exemplifies the growing business value of staying in touch. It is now the nation’s third largest greeting care company behind American Greetings and Hallmark.

Users of Send Out Card services “are aware how important it is to remember people in ways other than ‘hey, your bill is due,'” said Barry of Anaheim Hills.

Fidel helps individuals and companies set up automated reminder and card sending programs, and cards are important marketing tools. They can merely be card senders who like the discount – cards average $1 each – or become distributors.

He practices what he pitches sending about 2,000 a year. “If I hear somebody got a new job, I send a card. I send lots to friends and family.”

Like CardSenders/Client Touch, Send Out Cards has recognized the importance of having a huge selection, Fidel said. “When I started with them three years ago, they had only 1,000 card choices. Now they have 14,000 images in eight super categories and 80 subcategories. Plus I can send motivational books, brownies, gift cards.”

Former book publisher Fallon has also jumped on the Send Out Cards bandwagon, but mostly for fun.

“I do help businesses keep their name out there with customers,” she said. “Many of them send a bulk mailing once a year and it’s thrown away. If they send a card with a heartfelt message, people tend to hang onto it and they remember you.”

Fallon personalizes her own cards with photos she has taken of the recipient and uses software that captures her handwriting when composing the message. “What I love is personalizing my cards. A business can do it too. A caterer can put a recipe in the card. A Realtor can take a picture of a client in front of the house he just bought and put that in the card.”

Poore recommends personalizing the card as much as possible, from the message written specifically for the recipient, to commemorative stamps, not just standard American flag postage stamps and definitely not a postage meter imprint.

“All this says to the person, ‘You’re important to me,'” he said.

Cards for Kids is a program that helps schools use greeting cards as a hands-on language arts and social studies teaching tool, and encourages students to send or deliver cards to community nursing homes, shelters and senior centers.

Students gain basic communications and social studies skills, learn about the needs of the elderly and less fortunate, and have the opportunity to connect with others in their community.

Teach your kids to Send Out Cards!

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I have 4 packages, starting from  $9.80 up to $395.

the 1st one is $9.80/mo, that gives you 20 points a month – which is 20 post cards or 10 greeting cards, or a mixture of the two. This package allows you to send any of the 15,000+ cards we have in our online system, but NOT create your own CUSTOM cards. Any future points are .49 ea

the 2nd one is just buy as you go, points range from .49ea to .99 each depending on how many you buy.

the 3rd one is $31/mo that is the WHOLESALE/PREFERRED customer package – basically gives you a system JUST LIKE MINE, where you can buy AT MY COST. This gives you 100b postcards or 50 greeting cards per month. Any future points are .31 ea

the 4th one is the MD/ENT package that is a ONE TIME $395 fee, (plus $59 yearly renewal) and that is the EXACT package above, BUT – if anyone you EVER send a card to decides to use this system in their personal or business life, you can earn referral fees. (basically, refer 3 others to do what you wanted to do, and you have earned all your $ back plus more!)

http://SendCardsFree.com

Many people say a plan b, is a side income stream where you want to make a little extra money every month….(which it can be that, and that is good, right? I mean, everyone can probably use that from time to time :))

But also it is a safety net, that can help you through some tough times.
Used to be, many people worked for one company from the time they started work, till they retired.  But it is not always so, and very much less so in today’s world.

There are people I am hearing about getting fired after 5-10-15 years(for really no reason, other than someone else can do their job at half their salary) or the actually business shutting down because they are upside down and cannot continue operations, so they have to lay everyone off and shut down.

Then also what if something happens medically? What if one of the breadwinners in your family gets hurt, and needs surgery, and what if that doesn’t work out so well, and they keep needing medical things for a few years? even with insurance that 80/20 split can be pretty high on several or many thousands… and what if they cannot work, or if they cannot work their same job and have to get a different job at a lesser income…

And even if you have and own your own business- how secure is that?
My Mom is a licensed massage therapist, certified reflexologist, and beautician – she is very good at what she does…but if some reason she cannot work on a client – she doesn’t earn any $
My Dad is a custom home builder, he is very good at what he does, and granted he has people that work for him, so might be a little easier on him, but if he couldn’t go to work, how well would be build a house?

I thank God for my plan B which is an awesome tool to help businesses keep in touch with their clients and customers, it is an awesome tool for people to keep in touch with their friends and family, it is cheaper and more convenient than in stores, it is a very low monthly (which is not even really required), it allows me to send out happiness to the world, it also did help my family through a time, when we needed it, and now, over 8 years later, we are very blessed to have this *plan b* that allows me to send out happiness through the mail, and bless other people’s lives, and at the same time, get paid for it.

If you are interested in hearing more, watch my videos at http://SendCardsFreeToday.com and call, email, inbox, or text me with questions.
Laurie Delk

Greetings! 

As a customer of mine with SendOutCards, I want to be sure you are well taken care of. 

I am frequently asked the same questions, so I have posted my response to these questions below.

•What training resources are available to help me get the most out of using my SOC account?
•What’s new in my SOC account?
•What’s new in the gifting section?
•How do I get the best prices with SOC?
•What’s the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge?
•How can I upgrade my customer account to a distributor for FREE?
One of my colleagues, Jordan Adler, is offering a free live Customer Training webinar on May 23, 2012.  His last webinar had more than 900 guests in attendance, so he is offering it again.  During this one hour webinar, Jordan will review different aspects of the SendOutCards site and will also share real examples of how to use SendOutCards to build relationships and good will within your network.  This is a live webinar and it will NOT be recorded.

Customer Training Webinar
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
6:00pm Pacific  / 7:00pm Mountain / 8:00pm Central / 9:00pm Eastern
 
AUSTRALIA – Webcast is on Thursday May 24th at 11am AEST (Sydney/Melbourne)
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Space is limited, so reserve your Webinar seat.
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/151551390
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What training resources are available to help me get the most out of my SendoutCards account?

SendOutCards has a recorded tutorial section. After you log into your account, find the Help menu on the red banner. Under that, click on Tutorials & Media. You will find a number of topics there.

In addition, I have created some printable step-by-step instructions for several topics:
http://www.eaglestraining.info/redirection/documents/CustomerTrainingResources.doc

Finally, you can always contact me at 931.380.8811 or admin@LaurieDelk.net
In addition, you can contact SendOutCards Customer Service during business hours at 801-463-3800 or by accessing the Help Chat Online. You will need to have your customer ID (starting with an “r”) in order to access this.

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What’s new in my SendOutCards account?

We have made some wonderful enhancements to the SendOutCards system:

•New fonts, templates, graphics (under elements)
•In addition to postcards, 2-panel and 3-panel cards, we now have Big Cards (8.2” x 11.5”)
•Add a video (QR Code) to your card
•Enhanced Photoshop-like tools to make really cool photo cards with your own pictures
•Remote photo storage (great way to back up your digital photos in case of hard drive failure or loss of your computer)
•A Photo Store that offers great new photo gifts:
•Business cards
•Photo books
•12-month photo calendars
•Canvas prints
•Metal prints
•Bulk greeting cards (using your own photos & graphics)
•Posters & photo prints
•iPhone 4 cases
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What’s new in the gifting section?

In addition to the wonderful Photo Store gifts you can create, we offer a variety of gifts and gift cards to be sent with your greeting card.  We have hundreds of gifts in 20 categories, and we also have 19 gift cards to choose from.  Gifts are paid for with Points.  Gift cards are paid for with Expense funds (also used to pay for postage for gifts and cards).

Recently I’ve been enjoying sending out graduation and wedding gifts this way.  It saves me a lot of time! Check out the Gift Catalog and gift cards available now.

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How do I get the best prices with SendOutCards?

Any customer can now receive our lowest Preferred Customer (wholesale) rate of $0.31 a point by simply setting up a monthly subscription for 100 points a month ($31)—enough for 33-50 standard cards, 33 customized cards, or some cards and gifts. Any unused points roll over to the next month and are good for a full year from the date of purchase, and there are no contracts, so the monthly subscription can be reduced or stopped at any time.

Customers can receive our Retail rate of $0.49 a point by setting up a monthly subscription for 20 points ($9.80)—enough for 10 standard cards a month. As with the Preferred Customer rate, unused points roll over to the next month and are good for a full year from the date of purchase, and there are no contracts, so the monthly subscription can be stopped at any time.

For those who prefer not to be on any subscription, the cost per point with our Pay-as-you-go option ranges from $0.59- $0.99 per point, depending on how many points are purchased.

If you are currently not on a subscription, you are paying $.59–$.99 per point ($1.18-1.98 per standard greeting card) and you could be paying as little as $0.62 per card.  I suggest that you set up a subscription so you can save money.
(like I said, points roll over and you can cancel at any time, so even if you don’t us a lot, best bet is to do the preferred for a few months till you get some built up, then cancel for a few months till you use up what you have :))

Contact me with questions.  I’m here to help!

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What’s the 30 Day Gratitude Challenge?

To participate, you commit to sending a card of gratitude each day for the next 30 days. After you complete the challenge, if this has not had a profound positive impact on your life and your relationships, I will pay for your cards. In order for my offer to be valid, you must have completed the challenge for the complete 30 days — sending one card a day – NOT sending 30 cards at one time.

The power of this process is in beginning each day by expressing gratitude.  Doing this sets the tone for your whole day, and it also does amazing things for your relationships, since everyone loves to feel appreciated.

When Kathy was first introduced to SendOutCards in September of 2005, she was in a deep depression, and she pushed herself to BEGIN each day with gratitude by sending a card to someone she cared about. 
Within a week, her depression had lifted.  I’d love to hear what 30 days of expressing DAILY gratitude does for you, and I hope you will share your experience with me.
 

Here is a document to help you track your daily card-sending. I suggest that you print out the commitment and sign it. Keep this visible as a reminder to send your daily card of gratitude. You do not need to send this to me.
http://www.eaglestraining.info/redirection/documents/30dayGatitudeChallenge.pdf
 
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How can I upgrade my customer account to a distributor account for FREE?

SendOutCards will pay you to share this great tool with your friends and help them save money & time! To get paid, you will need to become a Marketing Distributor.

SendOutCards is offering a FREE upgrade for any customer who bought the $99, $199 or $398 customer packages, which is how people became a customer before 5/24/11.
That’s right…you may upgrade for FREE to become a Marketing Distributor IF you previously bought one of these packages. (because we now, no longer have sign up fees on the customer packages)
 
Why would you want to upgrade?  Almost everyone you know sends cards…or at least they would like to.  They probably don’t send as many as they intend to for three reasons:

•Store-bought cards are expensive…usually $3-5 per card.
•It’s a hassle to get in the car and drive to the store to find the right card when you want to send one.
•People forget about important occasions like birthdays.
SendOutCards addresses all three of these reasons why people don’t send as many cards as they would like to:

•With SendOutCards, you can send a card anytime without leaving the comfort of your home or office.
•Our most expensive standard card is $1.98.  Most people prefer to save money by setting up a subscription for either $9.80 a month–enough for 10 standard cards a month at $0.98 a card, or $31 a month–enough for 50 standard cards a month at $0.62 a card.
•We have a built-in reminder system that lets you know when an important date is approaching, so you’ll never forget an important birthday again.
When you share SendOutCards with family, friends and colleagues, you are helping them by providing a tool that will save them time and money.

SendOutCards does not pay for expensive advertising. Instead, they pay individuals like you and me to provide the most effective marketing available…called word-of-mouth marketing. As a way of thanking you for spreading the word, SendOutCards will pay you for life for all the cards and gifts your referrals send from the system, because you shared it with them and helped them get started.
 
Upgrading to a Distributor account provides an easy and fun way to earn additional income, whether you want to just earn enough to pay for your own cards and gifts you send out, earn a few hundred dollars extra each month, or replace income so you can quit a job you dislike or retire.  You decide how much or how little you work your business.

I’ve been a distributor for 8 years. In that time, I have generated a large enough group of people sending cards and gifts that I earn a livable income with SendOutCards.  For the first time in my life, I am truly earning residual income—income that comes in whether I work or not.
 
In the first quarter of 2012, I traveled to Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Knoxville, Charlotte, Hawaii, and Vegas next month. My commission checks from SendOutCards continued to arrive each month, even though I was away from my office for one-third of that time. That’s the power of creating passive income.

When you are ready to upgrade to become a Distributor, simply call SendOutCards at 801-463-3800 or log into your SOC account and click on the Help Chat Online (during business hours Monday-Saturday) and let them know that you want to upgrade to become a Marketing Distributor. You will need your customer ID number (begins with an “r”) when you contact SendOutCards to upgrade.

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I feel so blessed to live the life I have.  As you may know, I started a web design and graphic business in 1994. I started my SendOutCards business in 2004. 

If you’d like to enjoy more lifestyle freedom in your life, I’d love to spend a few minutes learning about your goals and helping you explore ways that you can turn desire into reality.  Please email or call me to request a time to talk.

Warm regards,

Laurie Delk
SendOutCards Executive and Corporate Certified Trainer

Nine out of 10 Americans look forward to receiving personal letters and greeting cards. Adding a personal touch to your greeting cards can make them even more special to the receiver.

Here are some tips for personalizing greeting cards:

Decorate the outside of the envelope with drawings and stickers. Adorning the outside of the card adds more pageantry to the thoughtfulness inside.

Write the person’s name or nickname on the inside of the card. Personalizing the card reminds them this card was sent just for them.

Underline, circle or highlight the phrases that apply or hold special meaning. This is a great way to signify how the card personally applies to your loved one.

Write a heartfelt note inside the card. If you are not especially eloquent, write something simple, such as, “I am not always great with words, but when I read this card, I thought of you.” The most personal cards are honest and heartfelt.

Enclose a meaningful photo. A special photo could be of the two of you or of someone or something else unique to your relationship.

Enclose confetti inside the envelope. This simple surprise is easy and fun and will make the receiver feel extra special.

Add a small gift inside. If your card is for a holiday or occasion, you can add a small gift certificate to a favorite store, a CD of your favorite music or special jewelry to make the card a gift in itself.

Make your greeting cards a part of an ongoing conversation. Create a sequence in which each card you send tells part of a story and together they answer a question or reveal a hidden message.

Guide to Staying Connected
Today’s busy schedules often leave little time for enriching people’s lives – our own included. But, carving out time to reach out to loved ones and strengthen our personal connections helps to boost our emotional well-being. Connecting with friends and family doesn’t have to take a lot of effort and it is often the simple, small gesture that has the most impact when it comes to showing someone how much you care.

Sending a greeting card is one of those simple gestures that reminds people someone is thinking about them. Making someone else feel special can also have the effect of making the sender feel good too. With all of the stress in people?s lives today, that small oasis of contentment is something we need now more than ever.

A recent survey by the Greeting Card Association found that almost nine out of 10 Americans believe they are as close or closer to their friends and family than they were one year ago and 66% of Americans are regularly reaching out to their immediate family for love and support.

Connecting with friends and family can occur because of a sense of obligation to recognize important life events or it can simply result from an impulsive desire to reach out. Sometimes one person connecting with another will set off a boomerang effect of reaching out!

62% of people feel inspired to send someone a card if they receive one from that person.

Follow these simple tips to stay connected with friends and family and boost your own sense of emotional well-being:

Set aside an allotted amount of time each day to reach out to others. Reaching out doesn’t take a lot of time, but it can be very meaningful to those we touch. A simple phone call, e-mail or card reminds our loved ones how much we care.

Take time to reflect on what is important and of value in your life. You can start a gratitude journal and write down everything and everyone you are grateful for. Writing down things of importance help us to remember the most special personal connections.

Don’t wait for a reason to connect. Life is too short to hold back when it comes to connecting with friends and family. Sending a “thinking of you” or “just because” card can be one of the best ways to show someone you care.

Reflect your own personality when reaching out to loved ones. Whether it’s a romantic note on a pillow or a humorous card in the mail, connections with friends and family should showcase your own attitude and sentiment.

Hold on to your personal connections through tangible memories. One of the best ways to keep our connections top of mind is by holding on to a physical memento or keepsake. Reflecting on old letters and cards helps us to remember our most special connections.

A greeting card in the mailbox not only brightens our day, but can instantly connect us emotionally to friends and family.

That special bright-colored or hand-written envelope stands out among our piles of bills and magazines and serves as a reminder that someone has taken the time from their day to reach out to us and show us they care.

Whether because of an annual holiday or an unexpected gesture, greeting cards keep people connected, benefiting both the sender and receiver.

Greeting Cards–

Means someone has taken the time to send a special message

Adds a personal touch to special occasions and holidays

Connects us to all different types of people including co-workers, teachers, family and friends

Helps us put our emotions into words

Provides a tangible keepsake to document special moments in our lives

Helps us reach across generation, gender and cultural communication gaps

Provides comfort to someone and make sad times less painful

Boosts emotional well-being through reaching out to others

Makes a loved one feel special

Preserves memories of connections with friends and family

Shows someone you care!

New Years

New Years is the world’s oldest and most widely observed holiday. New Year’s gifts and messages has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back to the 6th century B.C. Early Romans were known to have exchanged gifts symbolizing good will, including pictures on terra cotta tablets with inscriptions wishing a happy and prosperous New Year.

The earliest known holiday greeting cards appeared around 1450 in Germany. Cards from woodcuts were the most prevalent, and often had the Christ Child bearing good wishes for an auspicious New Year.

By 1770, greeting cards had went from woodcuts to finely printed messages. Engravers and printers supplied Europe with major quantities of New Year’s cards. The New Year holiday has become a part of the holiday season, and New Year’s cards are an expression of hope for the future, used by businesses and individuals alike.

Many people send out cards for New Year’s, to stand out from the crowd after the trail of all the Christmas cards have been sent.

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Valentine’s Day

The 1st Valentine was sent in 270 A.D. by St. Valentine on the eve of his execution for refusing to renounce Christianity. It was really a note of appreciation to his jailer’s blind daughter for bringing him food and delivering messages during his incarceration, it was signed “from your Valentine.”

The Romans used to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day as the Feast of Lupercalia, dedicated to the pastoral god Lupercus and the Goddess of Love, Juno. Roman maidens would place their names in an urn set up in the public square and courageous bachelors drew from it to obtain their “blind date” for the coming year.

The Christian Church denounced these “love lotteries” as pagan rituals. During the Middle Ages, love lotteries persisted in France as “chance boxes” that allotted couples one year to get married or part company. In England, men wore the name of the girl they drew on their sleeve, encircled with a heart.

Around 1400, written Valentines appeared as quaint love missives, usually given anonymously. In the 1700s, the familiar “roses are red, violets are blue?” verses came about, and in the 1850s, the French began to decorate their Valentines cards with metallic paper, ribbons, lace and other embellishments.

The 1st Valentines in America were exchanged during the Revolution, and were mostly handmade with sentimental verses written in a flowing script. Miss Esther Howland, an imaginative artist and entrepreneur, in 1840 became the 1st publisher of valentines in the US, eventually creating her own publishing firm that specialized in Valentine cards.

Many people send out cards for Valentines Day, to show others how much they love them, or just show that they care.

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Easter

Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Christ and is the most sacred holy day on the Christian calendar. It is a religious celebration that changes its date each year. The rabbit and the egg are the most popular illustrations for Easter cards. The Easter Bunny started where rabbits were used to symbolize new life. The decorating Easter eggs dates back to the Middle Ages.

Many people send out cards for Easter, to recognize that Christ has Risen, a remembrance of Him, or to offer a salvation message.

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Passover

Passover celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and begins on the fifteenth of the month of Nisan on the Jewish calendar in the Spring, and continues for seven days. The name comes from the story when, during the 10th and last and worst plague inflicted on Pharaoh, God passed over the Israelites and struck down only the Egyptian first-born. That night, Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites go.

Many people send out cards for Passover to remember this date in the Bible, so God does not bring his wrath like that ever again.

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Mother’s Day

Each year, the 2nd Sunday in May is Mother’s Day, started by Anna M. Jarvis of Grafton, WV in 1907 to honor her mother. Ms. Jarvis spent a good part of her life, after the death of her mother, in a crusade to have the date declared a national holiday. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Congressional resolution declaring, “The American mother is the greatest source of the country’s strength and inspiration.”

Many people send out cards for Mother’s Day to their Mom’s. It has been said that this is the one holiday that almost every one in the world sends out a card.
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Father’s Day

In 1910, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, WA was the founder of Father’s Day. She was one of 6 brothers and sisters raised by their father, William Smart, after their mother’s death. Mrs. Dodd organized the first Father’s Day celebration, held in Seattle. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended that Father’s Day be observed throughout the nation as a holiday.

Many people send out cards for Father’s Day to their Fathers to thank them for providing for them in their youth, and loving them.
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Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Rosh Hashanah is the 1st two days of the Jewish month of Tishri (in the Fall), and is considered the celebration of the beginning of the Jewish New Year. In the Torah it is the Day of Remembering and was not called Rosh Hashanah the New Year until Talmudic times.

Yom Kippur falls on the 10th of Tishri on the Jewish calendar and brings the end of the 10 days of repentance and atonement that started with Rosh Hashanah. It is the most solemn day of the Jewish year.

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Halloween

The Halloween observance started with the Celtic Druids in 700 B.C. The Druids believed that the souls of the dead returned to inhabit the bodies of the living on October 31. Villagers would don masks and costumes and paraded to through town to trick roving spirits into leaving. October 31 was incorporated into the Christian calendar as All Hallow’s Eve, honoring martyrs and saints. Children wear costumes offered to fast for departed souls in exchange for money or an offering. Irish Catholics fleeing from the potato famine in the 1840s introduced the Halloween observance to the United States, including the practice of carving jack-o lanterns.

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Thanksgiving

In 1620 landing at Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims held a feast to give thanks after gathering their 1st harvest, inviting the local Indians to share in the celebration. This observance is commonly recognized as the first official Thanksgiving. It is a time to count our blessings and give thanks. The family-oriented holiday has the festive dinner with all the trimmings and many watching the annual Thanksgiving parade and football games.

Many people send out cards for Thanksgiving to tell others in their life how they have helped them, to thank them for that. Or just to share how God has been good to them that year.

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Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday coming from the 1st and 2nd Books of the Maccabees and in the works of Josephus and later accounts in the Talmud. The victory of the brave Maccabees against the Greeks with the miracle of the cruse of oil that burned for 8 days instead of 1. The ritual for the holiday is lighting one light of the menorah each night of Hanukkah after sundown, beginning with the 25th of Kislev on the Jewish calendar (December). While a tradition of giving Hanukkah gelt money is an old one, the closeness to Christmas has made gift giving a part of the holiday.

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Christmas

Christmas is the only religious holiday in America that is also a legal holiday. December 25 was selected as the date to observe Christmas by Pope Julius in 349 A.D. The legend of Santa Claus dates back to the 4th-century St. Nicholas, Santa Claus did not become a popular American folk hero until 1822, when Dr. Clement Clarke Moore wrote “A visit from St. Nicholas” for his children.

In 1863, Thomas Nast used Moore’s description to draw a Santa Claus for Harper’s magazine. That became the model for Santa Claus mostly used today.

The 1st Christmas card was produced by London artist John Horsley in 1843, the same year that “A Christmas Carol” was written. The card, created for London businessman Henry Cole, added “Happy New Year” to its message of “Merry Christmas”.

Many people send out cards for Christmas to pass around pictures of their kids, their pets, give updates to family and friends about their year to people they do not see as often, as well as for businesses to connect with their clients in between sales.
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Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a 7 day observance stressing the unity of the African-American families. It means “1st fruits of the harvest” in Swahili. It was created by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga, Chair of Black Studies at California State University, and is usually celebrated December 26-January 1st. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the 7 Passerines of Kwanzaa, each intended to serve as a guide for daily living: unity, self-determination, collective work & responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Most families share symbolic dinners and exchange handmade gifts with an ethnic theme.

The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls.

The first known published Christmas card (1843),
by artist John Calcott Horsley
Courtesy of the Hallmark Archives, Hallmark Cards, Inc.
By the early 1400s, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year?s greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-1400s.

By the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing and mechanization, as well as the 1840 introduction of the postage stamp.

The first known published Christmas card appeared in London in 1843, when Sir Henry Cole hired artist John Calcott Horsley to design a holiday card that he could send to his friends and acquaintances.

Although the first known valentine card can be traced back to 1415, it wasn’t until the early 1800s and the Penny Post that they became popular and affordable. Esther Howland, a young woman from Massachusetts, was the first regular publisher of valentines in the United States. She sold her first handmade valentine in 1849, eventually establishing a successful publishing firm specializing in the elaborately decorated cards.

The American Greeting Card
Louis Prang, a German immigrant who started a small lithographic business near Boston in 1856, is generally credited with the start of the greeting card industry in America.

Within 10 years of founding his firm, he had perfected the color lithographic process to a point where his reproductions of great paintings surpassed those of other graphic arts craftsmen in both the U.S. and Great Britain. In the early 1870s, Prang began publishing deluxe editions of Christmas cards, which found a ready market in England. In 1875, he introduced the first complete line of Christmas cards to the American public.

Prang’s cards had reached their height of popularity in the early 1890s, when cheap imitative imports began to flood the market, eventually forcing Prang to abandon his greeting card publishing business. Between 1890 and 1906, there was a marked decline in U.S. greeting card production.

In the years immediately following 1906, the domestic business climate for greeting cards improved, and a number of today’s leading publishers were founded. Most of the cards by these fledgling U.S. publishers bore little relation to Prang’s elaborate creations. The expressed sentiment was the predominant element; the illustrated portions were incidental.

Following World War I, new publishers continued to enter the field and healthy competition produced important innovations in printing processes, art techniques and decorative treatments for greeting cards.

In the early 1930s, publishers increasingly adopted the use of color lithography, a move that would propel the U.S. greeting card industry toward continued growth and expansion.

During World War II, the industry rallied for the war effort, helping the government sell war bonds and providing cards for the soldiers overseas. This period also marked the beginning of its close relationship with the U.S. Postal Service.

By the 1950s, the studio card – a long card with a short punch line – appeared on the scene to firmly establish the popularity of humor in American greeting cards.

During the 1980s, alternative cards began to appear – cards not made for a particular holiday or event, but as a more casual reminder of our connections to one another. The popularity of “non-occasion” cards continues to swell.

Explosive growth in electronic technology, and burgeoning consumer use of the Internet, gave birth to the electronic greeting card or E-card in the late 1990s. The development of this entirely new medium for card-sending served to further expand the industry, producing new E-card publishers as well as E-greeting product offerings by traditional publishers.

Although studies have shown, that most people prefer, the actual heart felt card, in the mail, that they can cherish forever.